Lu Xu returned to Lanling Amber Tavern. Everyone was already waiting for him.
"It went very smoothly." Lu Xu sighed. "Old Mo was taken away."
"Old Mo." Atay laughed. "We're so close. How much does your heart ache?"
Lu Xu's heart was in a mess. "It was just a casual remark. Be more serious!"
Ashina Chong patted Lu Xu's shoulder, indicating for him to relax. "Since everyone agreed to his plan, don't be too nervous."
Lu Xu said, "Zhao Zilong is still in Anxi's Wei Mansion. Let's wait for his report."
Qiu Yongsi said, "A gemstone. That's strange. Is your Godly Fire in the shape of a gemstone?"
Atay said, "I just asked Senior Li Guinian today. The Godly Fire has been missing for too long. It can't be determined. We need to confirm it further."
Ashina Chong thought for a moment, then said to Atay, "Even if it's not the Godly Fire, it's still a sacred object. The Turks must have taken away a lot of treasures."
Lu Xu sighed deeply and nodded. He felt vaguely uneasy. He thought of Mo Rigen's dark dreams and what Qiu Yongsi had said to him on the roof. He also thought of Yang Guozhong's behavior. He couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"Let's wait for news." Lu Xu said.
The group discussed in low voices. Atay said to Ashina Chong, "Bring the Canon over. We'll check and see how many treasures were lost."
Lu Xu walked down the stairs to the backyard. It was the night of spring and summer. His mood was very complicated. Although he had made an agreement with Mo Rigen, he couldn't help but worry when he saw him in the enemy's hands.
"Hey, Xiaolu." Qiu Yongsi had just finished bathing. He was dressed in white and had a tall and sturdy figure. He stood in the courtyard and hung a few talisman papers that he had just made. He looked up and smiled at him. "Don't worry so much that you won't be able to sleep tonight."
"It's none of your business." Lu Xu said coldly. Just when he was about to leave, he recalled something and asked Qiu Yongsi, "Who's Ye Ming?"
"It's Ye Ming." Qiu Yongsi made a gesture to indicate that he was choking. He stretched his neck and said, "Also known as Ye Ming, a dragon that controls time."
Lu Xu: "In charge of time?"
"There is a place called the Dragon Subduing Pagoda." Qiu Yongsi said casually, "Flood dragons, dragons, and giant snakes. After the great battle between the ancient immortals, all the dragons who violated the heavenly rules were locked up in this place."
"What about the rest?" Lu Xu asked.
"The rest are naturally innocent. They are free. They can roam the four seas or live in the mountains."
Lu Xu heard from Hongjun that Qiu Yongsi's mission was to capture Xie Yu and seal him in the pagoda.
"Just Xie Yu alone can cause such a big commotion. When will the Dragon Subduing Pagoda collapse?"
"Then we can only let it collapse," Qiu Yongsi said with a smile. "When it collapses, it'll save me some trouble."
Lu Xu: "…"
"There was once a dragon god in the pagoda. His name was Ye Ming." Qiu Yongsi said, "Under his power, time in the pagoda flows very slowly. It's different from the outside world. However, when Xie Yu left, he killed Ye Ming, broke the time barrier, and took Ye Ming's corpse away. "
Lu Xu said in a low voice, "Then why did he answer when we asked him …"
"Because Ye Ming was his adoptive father," Qiu Yongsi answered seriously. "Killing Ye Ming with his own hands is also Xie Yu's inner demon."
"He originally planned to become a demon," Lu Xu said.
"But demons have inner demons too." Qiu Yongsi said, "Everyone has inner demons. Sometimes, you have to face your inner demons directly so that you won't be controlled by others. Look, Xie Yu also has times when he is afraid."
Lu Xu looked at Qiu Yongsi quietly. Qiu Yongsi said, "What is your inner demon? Is it hatred for Xie Yu? Or for Old Mo … "
"I'm leaving." Lu Xu didn't want to continue this topic. Qiu Yongsi didn't stop him and just smiled at him. Lu Xu left the backyard and stood in the corridor, looking at Qiu Yongsi.
"Hongjun likes you a lot," Lu Xu said.
"I like him a lot too," Qiu Yongsi joked. "But I like beautiful girls more."
"That's not what I meant." Lu Xu finally said, "Thank you."
When Lu Xu was about to return to his room, Qiu Yongsi suddenly said, "That wolf has a knot in his heart that can't be untied."
"I know," Lu Xu answered. "You have it too."
"Okay." Qiu Yongsi nodded and didn't say anything else. Lu Xu returned to his room and closed the door.
Luoyang, Shili Riverside.
Hongjun was already a little sleepy, but he was startled by Li Jinglong's "Brother Taibai" and his whole body was energized. He didn't know when it was now, but this underground street was like a black market and also like a city that never sleeps. He couldn't help but think, I saw Li Bai and asked him if he wanted to pee after drinking too much … I even gave him a tiger's cup, and then Li Bai sat across from me …
Hongjun only felt that the world was spinning, and his heart was beating so fast that he was about to faint.
"That, that, that …" Hongjun said, "Lord Li Bai, I'm really sorry. This lowly one didn't recognize Mount Tai just now …"
Li Jinglong: "…"
Li Bai was leaning on the side of an alley, and he was so drunk that he fell asleep. Hongjun's eyes were filled with admiration and surprise. He looked at the sleeping Li Bai and the living Li Bai, and his eyes were filled with uncontrollable joy.
Li Jinglong: "Go get a bucket of water."
"You go get it yourself!" Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong in surprise and said, "I have to take care of Brother Taibai."
Li Jinglong said, "Then I'll go get a bucket of water and pour it on his head."
"How can you do that!" Hongjun said, "Don't you dare! I'll fight you to the death! Wait … you're really splashing water! "
"What else can we do?" Li Jinglong felt like he wasn't carrying water, but a bucket of vinegar.
"Let him wake up by himself!"
"Impossible, he was always like this in the past. We often splashed water on him. Otherwise, you just wait, he'll still drink when he wakes up …"
"No, no, no! Don't —! " Hongjun let out a scream. The bucket of water splashed on Li Bai's head, and Li Bai instantly woke up.
"Get the wine —!" Li Bai shouted on the spot.
Li Jinglong gestured for Hongjun to take a look. Hongjun hurriedly explained, "It's not me, Brother Taibai …"
"Pull me up." Li Bai's head hurt a little, so Li Jinglong gestured for Hongjun to go forward and pull him up. Hongjun's whole body was trembling.
"Colorful horses, golden fur coats, Hu 'er will come out to exchange for good wine …"
"Together with you to relieve the worries of eternity." Li Jinglong and Hongjun said in unison.
Li Bai smiled tiredly. After exchanging greetings for a while, Li Jinglong said, "This is Hongjun, Brother Taibai."
"Who cares what he is —" Li Bai waved his hand and said, "Do you have money? Xiao Long, lend me some. "
"Let's get down to business first." Li Jinglong said, "We'll talk when we get back."
Li Bai could only give up. Li Jinglong practically escorted him to the other end of the street and said, "Where's Xiang Yu? You promised Hongjun that you'd help find her. "
"Hongjun … Mm." Li Bai turned his head and glanced at Hongjun, murmuring, "Are you … married?"
When he heard this, Li Jinglong's heart skipped a beat, as if it was about to jump out.
The corner of Hongjun's mouth twitched as he answered, "Married."
Li Jinglong's heart returned. Li Bai laughed a few times and patted Hongjun's back hard, saying, "I have a friend who gave birth to a daughter, and she's asking me to help look after her …"
Hongjun: "I don't like girls."
Li Jinglong's heartbeat returned to normal.
"Oh … I see, he's also a poet."
"Who is it?" Hongjun asked curiously.
Li Jinglong was a little nervous again.
"His poems are very good, his name is … Du Fu."
Hongjun: "Oh, who's Du Fu? I've never heard of him. "
Li Bai waved his hand and muttered to himself. His hair was disheveled as he led Li Jinglong and Hongjun deeper into the street. The faint fragrance became more and more obvious. There was a plaque hanging at the door with four words written on it: National Beauty.
Li Jinglong whispered to Hongjun, "After we go in, don't talk nonsense."
Hongjun nodded. He had already forgotten the purpose of this trip and said, "Can we bring Brother Taibai back to stay the night later? I still want to talk to him. "
Li Jinglong couldn't help but have a headache. What was there to talk about with a drunkard back? Li Bai was more awake than he was drunk, and he never talked about poetry with others when he was awake. Occasionally, when he had a flash of inspiration, he would improvise and start drinking. Other than people like Wang Lun who liked to laugh and drink together, other people rarely talked together.
"Bring him if you like." Li Jinglong said, "Later, we still have to watch him and don't let him draw his sword casually."
Hongjun nodded and the three of them walked in. They saw that the National Beauty was extremely luxuriously decorated. There were no guests in the hall, and there were four steps inside with a man in black sitting in the center. Li Jinglong saw this and secretly said, "Oh no, the other party is most likely already prepared!"
Hongjun looked at the man in black and was also shocked.
The man's facial features were extremely delicate and handsome. He didn't have the childishness of a youth, nor did he have the heroic spirit of a martial artist like Li Jinglong. He had willow leaf eyebrows, a high nose, deep eyes, and fair skin. His lips were slightly opened. Hongjun had seen too many good-looking men in his life, but he had never seen one as handsome as the man in front of him!
He was simply handsome to the extreme!
And beside the man in black, there was a large group of girls wearing luxurious clothes. They were simply too beautiful, like a hundred flowers blooming together, clustered around a god-like handsome man.
"Welcome to my store." The man said, "Marquis Yadan."
Li Jinglong smiled and said, "Excuse me, how did you know I would come today?"
"Naturally, I have my ways." The man said to Li Jinglong, but his eyes looked at Hongjun and muttered, "Let's make friends first. My name is Wan Jue, you can … … call me 'Little Wan'."
Li Jinglong narrowed his eyes and looked at Wan Jue and muttered, "Where are your brothers?"
"Wine, sex, wealth, spirit." Wan Jue held a cup and gestured to Li Jinglong, "You should have guessed who I am, Marquis Yadan. My big brother is busy in the city. Why don't you take a seat first and wait for him to finish his work and come over so we can chat?"
This man was too damn good looking!
Hongjun couldn't help but look at him a few more times, but he didn't have any improper thoughts about him. It must be because he had just been together with Li Jinglong, and beauty was in the eye of the beholder. Although this guy had a nearly perfect face, he couldn't move him.
Li Jinglong was surprised, looked around, and sat down on the steps opposite of Wan Jue. Wan Jue said again, "Why aren't you entertaining your guests?"
The group of soul-stirring beautiful girls around Wan Jue went around the steps and walked towards them.
Hongjun wondered if Li Jinglong would be tempted by this person, so he immediately glanced at him. Li Jinglong was calm and collected. He glanced at the group of girls and thought that they must all be monsters, but he didn't know what kind of monster they were. Smelling the fragrance, could it be a flower monster? He immediately said, "Since you are entertaining us today, you must have something to say. Let's get straight to the point."
Wan Jue said, "Don't worry, I won't let you drink my big brother's wine."
Li Bai sat down with his head down and didn't say anything. When he heard the word wine, he suddenly looked up and said, "Is there wine? Wine, wine! "
All the girls were stunned.
"Li Bai?" A girl asked, "Are you Li Bai?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Li Bai waved his hand and said, "Where's the wine?"
"Wah — —!"
"Li Bai — —!"
"Lord Li Bai — —!"
You monsters are really too much! Hongjun was furious and said, "Stay away from Brother Taibai!"
Wan Jue also didn't expect the situation to suddenly get out of control. All the flower monsters in the hall rushed towards Li Bai in an instant. A girl upstairs heard the scream and quickly came down, saying, "Where is Li Bai? Where is he? "
The hall was instantly in chaos. Wan Jue shouted, "Quiet!"
"Li Bai — —"
The monsters in the hall were almost moved to tears. A girl said, "I saw you in the garden a few days ago. It really is you!"
Li Bai: "Oh … … Okay, okay … …"
"Li Bai, I like you so much!"
Li Bai said casually, "I also like myself very much … … Okay, okay, where's the wine?!"
Someone immediately came over with wine and begged, "Please write a poem for us!"
"I'm not in the mood right now."
A group of girls surrounded Li Bai like stars surrounding the moon. Li Jinglong, Hongjun, and Wan Jue were ignored. The three of them looked at each other speechlessly.
"Brother, you're not very good. You can't even control your own monsters." Li Jinglong said casually, "You still need to cultivate for a few more years."
Wan Jue: "… …"
Hongjun didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Wan Jue said, "Marquis Yadan's people today counteracted my magic power. It's not wrong, not wrong."
"Where is Kun Shen?" Li Jinglong didn't have the patience to beat around the bush with him. He glanced around the hall. Although these girls were transformed from monsters, if there was no other choice, they would have to be ruthless. Presumably, their cultivation was not high. Only the Gu Yuan in front of him, he and Hongjun should not be afraid of him if they joined hands and enveloped him with the Five-colored Divine Light.
"What do you want in exchange?" Wan Jue's smile carried a hint of wickedness. It was the most tempting smile. He said, "Marquis Yadan, before we set off, my third brother specially instructed you to name your price first."
Was that true or false? Countless thoughts flashed through Li Jinglong's mind. They might have predicted that someone from the Dazzling Gold Palace would come to save Kun Shen, but they couldn't have predicted that it would be him. It was just a bluff.
"What does the Provincial Governor want?" Li Jinglong asked.
Wan Jue slapped his thigh and said, "You're a straightforward person, Marquis."
"Lord Li Bai … …"
"Don't get too close to him … … and don't pull his hair … …"
"That's enough!" Wan Jue finally lost his temper.
The demons' voices gradually became softer, but the way they looked at Li Bai was still the same. It was obvious that they were all infatuated with him. Although Li Bai was over forty years old, he did not look old at all. He had a good figure and a stubble on his beard, like a wanderer uncle in dire straits. He was also talented and had a thunderous reputation. He immediately stole the limelight.
"He's in the wine shop outside." Hongjun said, "Haven't you seen him before?"
"We can't go out!" A girl complained.
"That's right, we can't leave this door!" Another girl rolled her eyes at Hongjun and said, "I heard that he came a few days ago. My sisters wanted to go out and take a look, but they didn't let us."
"I brought him here." Hongjun said.
"So what?"
Hongjun said, "If I didn't bring him here, you wouldn't be able to see him."
"What do you want?"
"Don't want anything." Hongjun said, "Don't stick to him one by one, and don't lie in his arms …"
Li Jinglong and Wan Jue were no longer in the mood to argue. Wan Jue said expressionlessly, "The Jiedushi wants the Three Thousand Worlds Nightmare on him in exchange for Kun Shen."
Li Jinglong said, "I'll think about it. That's it. Hongjun, Brother Taibai, let's go."
Hongjun said, "Ah!"
The female demons all let out a disappointed sigh. Li Bai drank two mouthfuls of wine, got up and left unsteadily. He staggered. Li Jinglong supported him and walked out of the door without looking back.
"Marquis Yadan." Wan Jue suddenly said, "You can't touch me, and I can't touch you. Don't look for trouble."
Li Jinglong looked back at Wan Jue and narrowed his eyes to size him up. He suddenly thought of Wen Bin who was lying in the Exorcism Department and suddenly understood.
He nodded politely at Wan Jue.